Back to Oz
by TheAwesomeGeek
Summary: At the age of 18, Dorothy once again goes to the magical land of Oz. Will she meet her old friends again, or will she find new ones? And will her newborn curiousity for her parents death be stilled? And why is Oz a so much darker place than when she last visited?
1. Chapter 1

Back to Oz - Chapter 1

"Oh, can't I go play, Auntie Em?" Dorothy looked at Aunt Emily with big pleading eyes. Aunt Em sighed, and looked away. "No, Dorothy. You're almost a woman now, you'll have to grow up and start helping on the farm." That's what your father would have wanted." Dorothy looked down, sad. "What happened to mom and dad, Auntie Em?" She asked quietly. Aunt Em frowned. "That doesn't matter now." Se answered shortly. "Now go help your uncle feed the chickens." As she walked off, still looking down, Dorothy mumbled: "I wish I was back in Oz."

Three years ago, Dorothy had been to a place named Oz. It was a strange place, a land you couldn't go to by boat or car. Dorothy never got to find out how big it really was. It might just be a country, or it could be a planet, or even a galaxy. She would never know. But one thing Dorothy knew, it was over the rainbow. And it was NOT a dream, even if no one believed her.

The last time she had been to Oz, Dorothy had wanted to go back home more than anything. But now, at the age of 18, she wanted to go back there. She didn't want to work on a farm in Kansas all her life, and marry a framhand, and then die like her mother did. She missed the colours, and the singing, and most of all the weirdness. Oh, if only she could see scarecrow, tinman and the cowardly lion again! If only she had the ruby slippers!

When Dorothy went to sleep that night, the last thing she though was; "I want to go back to Oz."


	2. Chapter 2

Back to Oz - Chapter 2

My iPad autocorrect decided to be a blitch today, so just let me know if there are any major writing errors because of it...

* * *

When she opened her eyes the next morning to see the sun shining through the bedroom curtains, she almost thought she was back in Oz. She ran over o the window, pulled the curtains away, just to reveal the plain old brown farm outside. She would probably never see he old friends ever again.

A weak bark greeted her as she left her room. She kneeled beside the little dog and hugged him carefully. "You remember Oz, don't you Toto?" She asked and scratched him behind the ear. As a reply he licked her hand. Poor old Toto. He hadn't been a youth 3 years ago, and now he was old and weak. Uncle Henry said Toto would die, but Dorothy didn't want to believe that. "You're not gonna die, are you?" She asked him.

Outside, the sun shone brightly. It was a beautiful day, te bet they're had in months. Dorothy smiled and hummer "over the rainbow" as she walked towards the barn. She wore a plain white dress and a pink apron. In 3 years, Dorothy had changed in quite a number of ways. She had curves now, and men admitted her when she walked past. Her hair glowed healthier, her eyes shone brighter, everything had improved, it seemed. Apart from her wits. She still clung on to her childhood's dreams. But of course, almost no one knew that.

Dorothy waved and smiled as she walked past Hunk, Zeke and Hickory who stood by the well discussing something loudly. They waved back, before continuing the discussion. Dorothy moved on, deciding she didn't want to interfere. It was strange, the three framhand reminded her somewhat of her three friends from Oz, but not enough.

"There is no place like Oz," Dorothy mumbled, and sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ow, what had happened? Dorothy's head hurt bad. She had just walked, when all of a sudden everything went black. She heard some shouting, before everything fell silent. Holding her breath she listened for a sound, anything. Nothing, only her own beating heart. Slowly she opened her eyes, and gasped.

Over her the sky was the brightest of blue. Dorothy was up in a second, her painfull head forgotten. Beneath her a road lead on towards the horizon. A yellow brick road. Could it really be? Was she back?

Almost overwhelmed with joy, Dorothy ran down the yellow brick road, singing "follow the yellow brick road" over and over again. All of a sudden she stopped. The only sound had been her heartbeat... What had happened to talking trees, snickering Munchkins and chirping birds? Where was everybody?

So many questions, and no one around to answer them at all. Oh my, this was rather strange. "Hello?" Se called out, rather hesitant. No reply, only the echo of her own voice calling "hello" back, almost like a ghost's whispers. No other sound, not one. Something was really out of place here.

Slowly she walked further, more cautious now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A sudden noise startled Dorothy. She had walked for hours without a single sound apart from her footsteps, so the ruffling of leaves seemed extremely loud. Specially since there was no wind. On both sides of the road was dark trees. "Hello?" She whispered. No reply. Maybe she had imagined it? She was about to go on, when she heard the ruffling sound again. No, she wasn't imagining it. Carefully she walked off the road and into the deep forest.

The trees hung over her as she walked amongst them. It felt like their twigs tried to grab her and hold her tight. Every one of the huge pinetrees looked the same, every twig, every spot of moss. "Hello?" She shouted as loud as she could. You could hear the anxiousity in her voice. It was as if the forest took away the words, muffeled her cry. Dorothy shivered, better get back to the road she thought. It felt like something was watching her, following her even. Dorothy turned around and started to walk back to the road. Or... Wasn't the road in that direction? Or maybe that? She turned around. Wasn't it over there? She sighed. "Im lost, fantastic," she mumbled.

She just choose a direction, started to walk and hoped it was the right direction. She didn't hear the quiet laughter that started when she left.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_So many questions, so few answers. But most importantly right now, how do I get back to the road? _Dorothy though while walking further into the forest. Of course, she didn't know she was walking into the deepest darkest part of the forest. Those who would have wanted to help her couldn't, and those who could didn't want to.

She got weary and tired of walking. She didn't know how long she'd been walking, and didn't seem to get anywhere. Maybe she should just sit down for a while and get her thoughts toghether? Her mind started playing tricks on her as she stumbled further. She heard things, like someone called her name but no one was there. She thought she saw movement, but when she blinked there was nothing.

Time passed. Minutes or hours, she didn't know. Nothing changed. But then, just as she was about to give up, it did. The trees stopped, and she was once again on a brick road. But not the same brick road. This brick road was purpur red. Having no other options she started to walk down it, feeling more uncomfortable than ever. This wasn't the Oz she remembered.

Something yellow lay on the road ahead. What was it? She picked it up; a ball of hay.


	6. Chapter 6

This is getting quite darker than expected...

~E

* * *

Chapter 6

A ball of hay... Just a ball of hay. Dorothy stared at it, not sure what she felt. Should she hope, or be worried? She walked on clutching the ball tightly. As she walked down there was more and more hay. She shook her head, this wasn't right. Not at all right. Then there was a big pile of hay, and after that: nothing. After that the bricks were completely clean again.

Shivering, she looked slowly upwards. A shadow had been on the road. A shadow that shouldn't be there. And there he was. He hung from a treebranch by the neck. Strange, he looked. All emptied. One of his legs had fallen off and was nowhere to be seen. His eyes stared into the night, seeing nothing. Empty and hollow. Was he...? No, he couldn't be? Dorothy turned away, her eyes watery.

"Scarecrow," she whispered. Dead. She couldn't hold it back anymore, big salty tears ran down her cheeks and hit the ground. Where they hit the red brick it almost looked like blood. Having lost all her strength she fell down to her knees. Once again she glanced up at him. He was dead, but how could he be? And who would do something like that?

_Those who would have wanted to help her couldn't._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

How long had it been? Dorothy didn't know. She must have fallen asleep at some point. Her eyes were sore from crying, her head felt heavy. Maybe she should just give up? What was the point? Her friend was dead, this wasn't her Oz. She had been gone for too long.

She glanced up at the dead scarecrow once more. A tiny part of her had almost hoped her tears would have magicly woken him. But they hadn't. Suddenly she felt angry. No one came to **her **Oz and killed **her** friend. He had even been in charge! It didn't matter who did it, Dorothy would find them. And when she did... Well, god have mercy on their souls.

But first, it didn't seem right to just let him hang there. She climbed up and untied the rope. He fell down with a soft thud. Luckily Dorothy had her sewing kit in her apron. So she gathered the hay, stuffed and pieced him together.

When she was finished she kissed his cheek quickly, trying not to look into his empty eyes. Now, to find whoever did this.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Well, it was easy to decide to find whoever did it in the heat of the moment, but easier said than done. No leads, nothing. Just a creepy dark forest. No crossroads, no change in the pattern. It felt like it would go on like this forever. Just a sound again, a sound that wasn't really there. She was just imagining it. Only imagination...

The creek of a branch startled her. It was probably just the wind, she thought. She was about to go on, when she realized: There was no wind. The sound of quick footsteps came from behind her. She turned around, but there was no one there. But she could see a bush shiver, like someone had just rushed past it. Someone was there, she was sure. "Is anyone there?" she shouted, and marched towards the bush.

There was no one behind it. Of course not, there never was. But there was something else there. A white ball of glass. She picked it up and held it in the palm of her hand. It was so cold, freezing. Why would a little ball of glass be there. Someone must have lost it... Probably whoever had ran past her. She turned it around slowly, and let go of it with a gasp.

It didn't crush as it fell on the bricks, fortunately. It rolled for a while, and then lay still. Still, staring at her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A giggle came from behind a tree. Dorothy stared at the eye. The glass eye. White and cold, it lay there. The crystal blue iris, it seemed to stare right at her. The giggle again. Slowly she turned around. A girl was standing there behind her, maybe five or six years old, in the middle of the road. She stared at her, a stiff grin on her face. Her green eyes pleered at her, unpleasantly. Dorothy backed away slowly. "Who are you?" she asked. "Do you know the way out of here?" All thoughts of revenge had left her. The girl tilted her head to the side, still smiling. "It's mine," she said, and giggled again. "What's yours?" Dorothy asked. "It's mine."

Dorothy glanced at the glass eye. Quickly she snatched it up again. "This?" she asked, clutching it. The girl stopped smiling. "It's mine, give it to me," she growled. She reatched out a hand towards the glass eye. "Mine!" She moved towards Dorothy slowly. Her hand was odd, Dorothy noticed. Her fingers were short and thick, and her nails were wide,yellow, long and bent like some sort of claws.

"No," Dorothy's voice was hard. "Not unless you show me the way out of here." The girl stopped and stared at her. "No?" she asked in disbelief, her voice thin and squeely. "No," Dorothy repeated. The girl blinked, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm cold," she mumbled. "It's mine!" Tears streamed down her face. "Give it back!" The girl's voice was no more than a whisper now. She kept on coming closer, and now Dorothy noticed something shining in the hand that was not reached out towards her, half hidden behind her back.

Something shiny and sharp... Run!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

In another part if the forest, a part Dorothy already had passed, something moved. Something that hadn't moved in over a year. A pair of brown eyes blinked confused. What had happened? Everything was in a bit of a blur. Slowly he tried to get up, but fell down again. Something was missing. He looked down at where his feet should be, but one of them was missing. He frowned. Where had it gone?

The scarecrow scratched his head, looking around him. He seemed to be in some dark unknown forest. Or, had he been here before? It felt kind of familiar, but he couldn't remember. He looked at himself, his arms his legs, his hands. Someone had sewn him together, with bright blue thread. His clothes had been torn to pieces, it looked like. But the scarecrow couldn't remember that happening. How odd…

Yes, there was something familiar about this forest. He had forgot about that. Them chasing him through it. Why did they chase him? He hadn't done anything. And they tore him to pieces. "I forgot about dying."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Death, such a strange thing. How is it possible to die if you're not really alive? Not even really human. Not human at all actually. And how is it possible to forget something like that? Questions, that defined his existence at the moment. But he didn't seem to be able to answer any of them. What had happened to his Degree of Thinking? It wasn't there tucked inside his chest like it used to be.

It was so dark, death. It was so dark, and so lonely. But there had been someone there. Someone was waiting for him. But he didn't know who. Or what, rather. For he was pretty sure it hadn't been human. And it was bad. It was really bad. Oh well, better not think of such grim things. Always look at the bright side of life, right? Anyhow he wasn't dead now, and that was good. But where was he? He was standing on a red brick road, but not the regular red brick road. There seemed to be a third brick road. He had never known that.

A new thought had just crossed his mind. What if this wasn't Oz at all? He had been in Oz ever since he was stuffed, and he had even ruled it for a while, and he had never heard of a third brick road. And Dorothy had been from another world. Maybe this was Kansas? No, probably not. He couldn't imagine Dorothy living in a place like this.

It would have been nice to see her again though.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_Something had gone wrong. The impossible had happened. He was not supposed to wake. It was of the highest importance that they did not meet._

Dorothy ran as fast as she could. She was much faster than the little girl, but as long as she saw the shining knife clutched in the girl's clawlike hand, she didn't dare to slow down. What did a sixyearold do running around with knives and glasseyes anyway? Nothing made sense here, no use trying to explain it. Someone had messed it up real good.

It felt like she had been here before, like she was running in circles. But she couldn't be, the road was completely straight. She looked over her shoulder, and slowed down. She had shaken her off, thank god. She was dead tired, but didn't dare stop completely. She was afraid the girl would catch up with her if she did. And if she did catch up, Dorothy would rather not know what would happen...

The eye was still clutched in her hand. It was still ice cold, even though she was warm from running. No matter what way she turned it, the iris followed her. Could it be a magic eye? Or could it be...? She wouldn't think the thought but, could it be alive? Could whatever owned it once be concious somehow? She didn't think anything could be impossible anymore.

Dark thoughts for dark places. She was so lost in thought she didn't even notice the distant giggling coming closer.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Did this forest lead anywhere? Scarecrow looked in both directons. He could start walking, but there might not be a point. It didn't seem real. This road, this forest, it wasn't Oz. But it seemed to be in Oz. So it was logical to presume that ordinary rules of space didn't matter, didn't count. He laughed quietly. It seemed he could think quite a lot even without his degree. Things had indeed changed.

There was no pont just sitting around. Scarecrow got up and decided to go down the road. And fell down again. He had forgot about his missing leg, where could it be? If only the one who stiched him together could have found it. He sighed. "I wonder who did stitch me up, in a godforsaken place like this," he said to himself. It wasn't really the place you would expect good deeds to be done at all. But at least that ment there was someone else here, he wasn't alone. And that was a good thing, right?

Time passed endlessly slow. Snailed away. So boring, nothing to do, nowhere to go. Ticking away meaningless. Times change, but sometimes it feel like it will be the same way forever, frozen pattern. That's how he felt as he sat there beneath the big tree. Like it was going to be like this forever. He just sat there, staring into the sark shadows.

"Come back to me." A cold whisper in his ear.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

A hand closed around her wrist. Dorothy jumped. "Let go!" she shouted and tried to get her hand loose from the girl's grip. "Give it back," the girl said and smiled. She looked playfully at the knife. She was playing, Dorothy realized. Playing cat and mouse. "Let go of me!" You could hear the fear in her voice. Why couldn't she just give the girl the eye and leave? But somehow it seemed important that she didn't. That girl should not have that eye.

"If you won't give it to me, I'll have to take it." The girl licked her lips and laughed. "No," Dorothy whispered. "You can't." But she could… No way of stopping her. She should run, she knew she should, but she couldn't make her feet move. It was like they were glued to the ground. She was going to die. But then, as it often does, something happened. The girl, who had been walking a little back and forth enjoying Dorothy's reaction, tripped. A loose brick.

Dorothy saw her falling towards the ground, waving her hands fanatically. Dorothy kind of knew what would happen, wanted to look away but couldn't. The hand with the knife reached towards the ground, trying to take off for the fall, and… The knife sunk in with a sickly soft sound. The girl looked up, a surprised look on her face. She opened her mouth, but no sound left her. Something thick and pitch black spread out on the ground beneath her.

Slowly Dorothy backed away, before she turned and ran.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

What had happened? Dorothy just couldn't take it in. What a coincidence. But was it really just a coincidence? Dorothy hadn't noticed a loose brick there before, in fact she hadn't noticed any loose bricks on the whole road. Every brick was the same, placed in a perfect pattern. But it must have been a coincidence, what else could it have been?

It got colder and colder while she ran. Rather strange, running should make you hot, not cold. Slowly it was like the shadows started to move, swaying gently. But the trees throwing the shadows didn't move at all.. The shadows accually didn't look like tree shadows at all. They almost looked human. Dorothy slowed down, walking through what now was forest of ghosts. The blurry dark grey shapes just stood there swaying. There was no way of telling if they looked at her or away from her.

She didn't even know if they were aware of her being there.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

She away getting closer. Not sure what she came closer too, she was aware of the fact that she was getting closer to something. "Don't believe," something whispered. One of the shadow ghosts stood a bit closer than the other ones. The voice sounded familiar, reminded her of someone or something. Reminded her of... "Tinman?" She asked. The shadow didn't reply. As she walked on the shadow followed her. And strangely enough it felt just a bit safer.

A blue stripe appeared in te distance. Was it dawn Or sunset? Or something else? She hadn't the faintest idea of how long she had been in the forest. But now the forest was coming to an end. And in front of her was a tall house. Lights shone from the windows, a very white light, neither warm nor welcoming.

The door was of dark wood, mahogny perhaps. The shadow ghost had stopped by the edge of the forest, and was now just standing there swaying gently, waiting. Dorothy took a deep breath and knocked. The door slid open without a sound. Behind the door was a sparesly lit passage. A sickly sweet smell drifted out. With a last glance at the shadow of her old friend, she entered. There were doors on both sides, but all of them locked. Only at the end of the long passage, Dorthy could see an open door. And from that door the smell came.

The sweet smell of decay greeted her, and behind her the door slammed shut.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

There was no one around, but scarecrow still looked around bewildered. He was sure he jad just heard someone whisper right next to him. He would have thought it his imagination, it was just that he felt so incredibly frightened by it. And the only thing he was afraid of was fire. And a voice was not fire. There was this other thing too. When he had been dead, the presence he had felt had whispered. Whispered in the same voice that had whispered into his ear right now. It hadn't whispered much sense, mostly just numbers and parts of children's rhymes. So it was right, it hadn't given up on him, whatever it was.

A shape stood before him, having emerged from the shadows so slowly it had almost looked like it had been growing out of it, replacing it. Scarecrow stared at it and could almost feel his heart beating faster, until he remembered he didn't have one. But somehow he wasn't really afraid of the shadowshape. "Are you a ghost?" He asked hestiantly. He got no reply. The shadow had roughly the shape of a man, although a little blurry around the edges, and was dark grey. "She's here, follow me," it said. She? She who? It couldn't be her, could it?

"I can't follow you, one of my legs are missing," Scarecrow said while studying the ghost. There was just something very familiar about it. The ghost bent over where the leg should be, and as they watched mist covered his whole lower half. When the mist disappeared Scarecrow stared down at his leg. It was back, as good as new. He stared at the ghost in disbelief. "Hurry," it whispered. Scarecrow got up and started to run after the ghost into the forest, tumbling now and again.

They rushed through the forest, the scarecrow didn't really know where to. "It is you, isn't it?" he asked.


	18. Chapter 18

_This has been a long time coming, sorry guys, I've been moving and on holiday..._

_~Author_

* * *

Chapter 18

The room was small and incredibly hot. At first Dorothy couldn't see anyone in the room, and so she was startled when she heard the dark female voice. "Don't be afraid, honey. Come closer," the voice purred. The words were slow, kind of like Uncle Henry when he was drunk, but this voice wasn't angry, it was mild and had perfect articulation. Dorothy walked over to the fiercely burning fire and saw in a chair faced towards it a tiny and very round woman. She looked like a stereotypical farmer's wife from a fairytale. Round and smiling with rosy cheeks and always some cookies in the oven. The face told Dorothy to relax, and be safe, but there was something, something Dorothy couldn't quite put her finger on, that made her uneasy.

"Don't be afraid," she said again, reassuringly. She had a western accent, Dorothy noticed. "Who are you?" Dorothy asked while trying not to look at her. "I'm Maggie," the woman said and smiled. Dorothy was about to ask something else, but was interrupted. "I believe you played with my little girl in the forest earlier today?" She was reading in a big book, bound in red flannel. "I guess she won't be home for teatime." She laughed a merry little laugh. Dorothy backed away, horrorstruck. "You... She was... I..." she stuttered. "Such a lovely little girl," The woman said, and took up a piece of paper.

Despite of her fright, Dorothy moved closer to look at the paper. It was a crude drawing of a little girl, done by someone with only average drawing skills. It looked like an attempt to draw a normal little girl, but the result was alarmingly like the little girl from the forest. The little dead girl. This woman's daughter, it seemed. Maggie caressed the paper, and as she did Dorothy noticed a knife in the little girl, drawn with red. Had it been there before?

"I drew her myself, you know," Maggie said with a little smile. "Just like someone drew you."


End file.
